Device for use in constructing underground wall structures and building supports and method of using said device



., ET AL. 1,847,842 GROUND WALL STRUCTURES AND USING T.MCCAULEY.JR

CONSTRUCTING UNDER O A METHOD OF SAID DEVICES i Nov 29 2 Sh March l, 1932.

DEVICE FOR USE BUILDING s eets-Sheet 'l ;ggg

RM NEIN@- March l, 1932. T. MccAULEY, JR, E1- AL 1,847,842

DEVICE FoE UsE IN NsTRUcTING UNDERGROUND L STRUCTURES AND BUILDING sUP Ts AND METEO E USING D DEVICES Filed Nov, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 1, 1932 j,

UNITED `STATESy PATENTV vOFFICE THOMAS MCOAULEY, JR., AND PORTER n. RUDOLF, or OAK PARK, rizraNOrsv DEVICE FOR Usny 1N OONSTRUCTING UNDERGROUND WALL sTRUOTURRs AND BUILD- ING sUProRTs AND METHOD or Usine sArn Devieni Application led November 29, 1929. Serial No. 410,318.

rlhe invention relates to devices and a method of using the same in the construction of underground walls of Vconcrete or analogous building material, such walls being commonly referred to as basement or sub-basement walls.

It is well known that in the construction of basement and sub-basement walls in modern practiceV frequentlyv going several stories underneath the surface of the ground, difiicult problems are presented insoft or sandy conditions of earth and before the material necessary for the building ofr such underground walls may be put intoy position, the trenches that are excavated must be sheathed or lined and the sheathing or lining must be substantially braced and the walls of loose wet earth or sand must continue to bebraced especially when very deepk or when unusual pressures develop, due to the weight of adjacent building structures and the like, until after the concrete for the wall has been poured and set. For bracing the sheathing of trenches in which concrete wallsof basements or sub-basements are being built adjustable jack screws have heretofore been used. Such jack screws have sometimes consisted of wood Vblocks or drums si'X or eight inches in diameter'and in length less than the Width of the trench. (lo-operating with such members are metallic screws `engaging threaded metal blocks so that'by rotation of the screw the effective length of such jack may be increased and the desired pressure between the sheathing Walls ofthe trench may be maintained both during the digging of the trench and during the introduction of the concrete for forming the walls. With the use of the Wood bodied jacks, obviously, since the jacks, if not removed, would extend through the ultimate finished wall and result in an imperfect wall, the concrete must be introduced first at the bottom of the trenchv in` sections and each section allowed to harden before the jack screws immediately above the top ofthe section are removed. A concrete Wall thus formed results in undesirable andpossibly leaky seams. i

In order tofbrace the trench sheathing it has heretofore been proposed to use jack screws made of hollow metallic pipe filled with concrete or other suitable filling material for a part of their length, the filled part of Lsuch a jack body bei'ngnormally less than the ultimate thickness ofV the wall of the basement or sub-basement; lThe body or drum ofthe'jack has been made longer than the normal thickness of thev wall so `that as the concrete of the wall isV poured the metal will project on the open side kof the wall for some distance, requiring an expensive-'operation of cutting off the projecting lend of the pipe, usually inside of theL outer wall of thev concrete by a-suitable cutting device as an acetylene torch, after which' the opening thus loft in the concrete wall in to where the pipe is filled with concrete must be filled with concrete and the surface smoothed over. In a single building, assome of the large modern structures when there are severalstories of basement and sub-basement walls, and especially in sandy underground conditions, several thousand of such jack screws must be used and the loss of the `materialwasted in cuttingV off the projecting jack screw pipe bodies togetherrwith the labor of such cutting andthe refinishingof the exposed wall surfaces will amount to several thousand dollars. Our invention is designed to minimize both the waste of material and the labor required in the removal of jack parts and the smoothing and refinishing of the basement Wall surfaces.

It is a further Object ofthe invention to provide a novel form of jack screw in which he body or drum portion thereof not including the screw is'of two separable parts, fone part of which carrying the screw is detachable from the other part of the jack so that the latter after the underground wall is formed and set may be incorporated as a part of the finished wall when the other and removable` part of the ack body and screw are detached from the wall; and an important feature' of the invention, making this operation possible and practicable resides in the novel construction of the two separable parts of the body portion of the ack by which it will be able to function in a normal manner in co-operating with the screw to serve as an extensible brace and by reversal of the direction of the rotation of the screw, the removable portion or section of the ack body with the screw which it normally carries, may be forcibly ejected under screw pressure from the surrounding and contacting portions of the underground wall in which it is embedded for a portion of its length in order to enable the other and lnon-removable portion of the jack body or strut to be always completely 'embedded and encompassed within the body of the concrete wall and between the two faces thereof.

It is a further object of the invention to providea novel form of yjack screw in vwhich the body portion thereof is of two separable parts, one part of which is detachable from the other parts of the jack so that it may be incorporated as a part of the finished wall when the other part of the jack body and the screw are detached from the wall, improved means being provided whereby the inner end of the screwmay be caused'to bear upon the detachable part of the ack body which is to be incorporated as apermanent part of the wall, for forcibly separating the detachable parts of the jack and making possible the removal of such detachable parts from any contact orV engagement as such detachable parts of the jack may have with the concrete part of the wall.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention, reference being had `to the accompanying drawings forming a part of the specification, the

novel'features being set forth in the appended claims.

- In the said drawings, j v

lFig. 1 is a transverse, vertical sectional View illustrating a typical basement or subbasement trench with sheathing in position along the trench walls, the wall and one of the jack structures being shown in section lwith the jack structure iny an extended or bracing position. Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the screw of the jack operated in a manner to retract the detachable port-ion of the jack body so that it may be removed from the finished wall'structure after the concrete has been poured and the wall has set.-

F ig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing the condition of the wall adjacent to the ack after the wall has set, and the detachableportion of the jack removed, leaving the wall in condition for finishing by the introduction of concrete or other plastic material.

Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 are views similar to Figs. 1 and 2 but illustrating a slightly modified form of jack structure.

The typical form of concrete wall is designated in Figs. 1 and 2 by the reference character 10. Vl1 represents 'suitable sheath ing which is put in position along the ultimate wall side of the trench as the digging of the trench proceeds downwardly. Adjacent earth is indicated at 12. Metal channel bars 13 are vspaced apart in vertical position at suitable intervals. These bars may be secured by nailing into the sheathing 11 as indicated, being spaced apart to take one end of the metallic tubes or cylinders 14 of the jack screws 14 of the jack screws. rhe earth in section at the opposite side of the trench is also designated by reference character 12 and on that side the trench wall is lined by sheathing extending vertically. Longitudinal bars of wood, usually several feet in length called walers are applied to hold the vertical sheathing members in position. 15 designates the waler and 16 the vertical sheathing members.

After the trench is completed and sheathed a wood spacing wall designated at.` 17 will be erected to define one of the ultimate surfacesof vthe basement or sub-basement wall 10. The temporary wall 17 will be supported by suitable braces 18. `With the 'requisite number of spacing jacks in position the concrete 10 may be poured in the wall form between the members 11 and 17 and allowed to harden and set in the manner illustrated ink Fig. 1. i

The construction and mode of operation of the jack screw device will now be described.

The length of the tubular portion 14 of the jack body which is of iron or steel tubing will depend somewhat upon the thickness ofthe wall under construction. Such walls ordi-l narilyr run from twenty-four to forty-eight inches or more in thickness. In any event, We would' prefer to make the portion of the jack to be incorporated in the fini shed wall about i four or five inches 'less in length than the thickness of the wall in which it visvto be used. This relation of the length of the portion of the jack body to remain as a permanent part of the wall is important in order that the end thereof adjacent the inner face of the wall shall always be within the face of the wall since in practice it is found to be'impossible to make up predetermined lengths of such struts or wall portions of the jack bodies with any assurance that they will terminate precisely at the finished, exposed face of the wall, the reason being that the sheathing at the sides of the trench and the beams or walers contacting therewith are liable to variations of anywhere from one to three inches in general practice due to various formations of. soil or underlying earth strata and the inner face of the wall will obviously be constructed' to conform to an .established line co-inciding with the desired vertical finished .surface of the wall. Therefore, all attempts heretofore to use embeddedstruts as detachable parts of jack bodies have proved impractical because M of difficulty and expense in attempting to de- 14 ofthe jack may be filled with concrete, as-

indicated at 21. In practice, we preferl to make up a large supply .of the tubular members 14 with telescoping parts 20 attached and where it is desired they be filled with concrete, this, obviously, may be done at any time so as to have these parts ready for the building operation. The jack isfurther made up of the tubular member 22,-preferably of the same material as the part 14. 23 is a substantial metallic discthat may be inserted in the enlarged open end of the member 14 to provide a seat for the engagement of the screw of the jack for a purpose to be hereinafter described. 24 is the usual threaded screw provided with a spherical head 25 with one or more di ametrical openings adapted to take a suitable bar or toolfor rotating the screw. Screw 24 is threaded into a flanged cap 26 on the outer vend ofthe tubular'seetion 22 and 27 is a threaded block electrically welded or otherwise secured to thc inner end of the tube 22.

` Then the trench is being prepared it will be obvious that the .sheathing of the walls thereof will be braced vby the complete jack its screws assembled as described and as shown in Fig. 1. VWhen theform wall 17 for the inner wall of the basement wall structure is being prepared the form member 17 will be obviously cut to surround the jack body, and' for strengthening purposessuitable wood collars 28 may be used to surroundthe ack body. It will be obvious that with theparts of the jack shown in Fig. 1 the opposite sheathing walls ofthe trench may be adjusted as desired at any time prior to the setting of the wall and removal of the jack.

When a sub-structure like the wall 10 has been built and hasset, it will be obvious that workmen will have access to the trench between the removable form wall 17 and the sheathing 16. It will also vbe apparent that in this structure the sheathing 11 will remain in position attached to the wall with the earth pressing close against the same. But on the other side 0f the wall 1() after the wall has hardened and set the form wall 17 and the removable parts of the jacks may be removed, beginning at the bottom of thetrench. Obviously, the longitudinal braces 1S will be removed as the finishing of the wall from the bottom-upwardly and the successive removal of the jack screw parts progresses. The walers 15 may be reinforced by metallic blocks 30 kenga ing the spherical portions 25 of the screws or strengthening purposes. With a jack constructed as shown, it will be obvious that pressure will be exerted upon the threaded cap 26 and thence upon the plate 23 to the tube 14, making the jack body a substantially rigid structure.

In Fig. 2 is shown the adjustment of the jack screw for removalv purposes after the wall is poured and .has set. As the screw is rotated inwardly the inner end engages the block 27, releasing the head 25 from the waler 15. Further turning ofthe screw in the same'direction causes the inner end to engage the threaded fixed block 27. As the screw is further rotated the inner end thereof engages the concrete 21 or the metal plate 23, when the latter is used. The block 27 being securely welded'. .to the tube 22, enough pressure may be appliedto easily force the block 27 and the-tube .22 attached thereto entirely out of the concrete wall as illustrated in Fig. 2. As soon as the'` screw and the tube are in position, as .shown in Fig. 2, they may be readily lifted from the wall and these parts will be available for` further work of the same kind. As soon as these removable parts 22, 24, 26 and 27 of the ack screws are removed with the braces 18, obviously, the form wall 17 may be removed from the concrete wall and the holes thus left in the wall surface by the removal of the tubes 22, as indicated in Fig. 3, may be filled and resurfaced without any further mechanical work than the filling and .surfacing of these depressions, thus affecting considerable economies in the saving of both labor and material.

:[nv Figs.V 4 and 5 a tube 54 like the tube 14 is shown but without the attached telescoping section 20. This tube Vwill be relatively longer, and a tube ofsmaller diameter, as indicated at 40, will be employed to support the screw 24 and the cap 26. In this form a metal disc 42 may be employed, if desired, to

reinforce the concrete both as to the compression strains between the tubes as well as the compression strain of the end of the screw in the detaching operation after the wall has been poured and set. Aside from the structural differences noted, the devices, Figs. 4 and 5,`are similar to the embodiment shown in Figs. 1V and 2, and their mode of operation is substantially the same.

lVhat we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A jack screw structure comprising a metallic tubular body device made of two tubular portionsadapted to have telescopic relation, one of said portions being provided with a seat for the telescoping end of the other portion, a perforated and screw threaded block fiXedly secured to one of the tubular body Y portions, and a screw positioned in said screw threaded block and being providedwith an adjusting head on the outer end thereof and being adapted to engage at its other end a fixed part of the co-operating tubular member whereby upon reverse Vrotation of the screw member said two tubular portions will be forcibly separated.

2. A jack structure for-use in constructing basement or sub-basement walls and the like, consisting of an operating screw and two separate detachable body portions, one of which is composed of iron or steei tubing and in length appreciably less than the thickness of the wall 'to be formed, said tubular' portion being filled substantially throughout its length with concrete except for a shortdistance at one end thereof whereby to form an opening for teiescopic engagement with the other tubular portion of the jack body, means for operatively securing the screw member of the jack to the last said body portion of the jack bodyand means for causing the said Vscrew member when operated to its extreme inward position to en rt a pressure to separate the multiple portions of the jack body and to forcibly free the tubular portion carrying the screw from the other concrete filled tubular portion of the jack body and from any contacting portions of concrete in the wall.

3. A jack screw structure designed for use in constructing basement and sub-basement walls and .the like, comprising a rotatable screw member, threaded substantially throughout its length, and a ack body comprising two telescopically connected separable tubular members of iron or steel, one of which is filled with concrete, ,and means on the other tubular member for permitting a crowding action between the telescopingtuhula-r portions of the jack body to .forcibly Yseparate by pressure of said screw that part of the jack body and the screw from the concrete lled portion thereof and from any contacting portionsy of a concrete wall built around the said body portions of the jack body.

Ll. A jack screw structure for use in building underground concrete walls and the like, comprising two telescoping tubular members of iron ror steel forming the ack body, one of said members being` filled for the greater part of its length with hardened and set concrete which is reinforced near one end of the tube with suitable means .to vreceive the impact of one end of the screw member of the jack, threaded means for suitably supporting the screw member of the jack inthe other of the telescoping members, and a screw threaded block adjacent the telescoping end of the tubular member of the jack body which carries the screw and which block is rigidly secured lto the said tubular member whereby the screw member may be first brought into threaded engagementv with the rigid block and by further rotation may cause the end thereofvto exert a crowding action upon the reinforced concrete filling of the other tubular portion of the jack body to forcibly separate the tubular member carrying the screw fromA the concrete filled portion of the jack body and'froin any contacting portions of concrete in a concrete wall formed around said jackbody portions.

5. A jack structure for use in. constructing concrete basement or sub-basement walls and the like, consisting oftwo separate detachable parts, one of which consists of iron or steel tubing of a. length less than the thickness of the wall 'to be formed, one end thereof being adapted to lie substantially flush with one face of the concrete wall when embedded inA the wall., the other end thereof being adapted to 'be surrounded by the concrete of the wall and to lie within the body of the wall and spaced inwardly from the adjacent outer face of the wall, a. rotatable screw member and means for supporting the -rotatable screw member in relation tothe endof the said tubular member which is spaced inwardly from an outer face of the wall, `comprising a tubular supporting member carrying an extension adapted to telescopically co-operate with the embedded end of the first said tubular member which is inwardly spaced from the outer face of the concrete wall whereby stresses exerted by the said screw may be transmitted through the said detachable screw supporting device upon the embedded extremities of the said tubular member and whereby, after the concrete wall is formed and set, the said screw member and its said supporting device may be removed by the reverse rotation of the screw member from its telescopic engaging relation with the end of the tubular member and the contacting portions of the concrete wall.

6. A ack structure for use in constructing concrete basement or sub-basement walls and the like, consisting of two separate detachable parts, one of which consists of a rigid elongated member of a length less than the thickness of the wall to be fomned, one end thereof being adapted to lie substantially flush with one face of the concrete wall when embedded in said wall, the other end thereof adapted to be surrounded by the concrete of the wall and to lie wholly within the body of the wall being spaced inwardly from the adjacent outer face `of the wall, a rotatable screw member, andmeans for co-operating with and supporting the rotatable screw member in relation to the. end of the first' said member of the jack Vbody which is spaced inwardly from the outer face of the wall,'comprising a tubular member adapted to telescopically cooperate with the embedded end ofthe first said part of thejackbody which is inwardly spaced from the outer face of the concrete wall, the saidltubular member being provided with athreaded device kat the outer end thereofffor engagement with the screw for use in adjustably extending theeffective length of the jack, and witha second threaded member lfixed in relation to thetubular-member'adjacent the end thereof adapted to co-operate with t 1e embedded end of the first said part of' the jack whereby upon a retraction of the said screw by reversely rotating the same,

the inner end thereof may be used to forcibly tubular member being adapted to form one part of a two-part detachable jack body, the second part of which consists of a rigid mem ber adapted to telescopically engage with the end of the metallic tubular portion of the jack opposite the end thereof carrying the aforesaid head, and means o-n'the said second part of the jack body adapted tovbe engaged by the inwardly extended end of the screw when operated reversely to forcibly separate the telescoping portions of the jack body when the screw carrying portion of the jack body is embedded in a concrete wall.

8. The method of producing a wall in a trench which consists in sheathing the trench at the sides, setting walers transversely across the sheathing, placing between opposed walers screv7 aclrs having multiple body portions arranged in telescopic abutting end to end relation, one of said body portions of the screw jacks being in length less than the width of the wall to be erected in the trench and the other of said body portions being formed of a thin 'walled pipe and provided with an intern ally threaded nut portion fixed in relation thereto to resist end thrusts upon the screw jacks, there being also a second internally threaded nut portion fixed `in rei lation to the screw carrrying body portion of.

f body portion of the. screw jack and a. part of the abutting body portion carrying the jack screw, pouring,r concrete into said space around the multiple body portions of the screw jacks within the wall space bounded by said sheathing and the said wall form, and

subsequently, upon the setting of the concrete ywall, forcing that body portion of the screw jacks from ythe concrete of the wall by reverse rotation imparted to the screw of the jacks thereby causing the screw to impinge upon a part fixed in relation tothe body porn tion which is encompassed within the side edges of the wall.y i

9; The method of producmg a wall in a Y,

trench which consists in sheathing the trench 1 at thesides, setting walers transversely across the sheathing, placing between opposed walers screw jacks having multiple body portions arranged in telescopic abutting endv to end relation, one of said body portions of the screw jacks being in length less than the width of the wall to be erected in the trench and the other of said body portions being with an internally threaded nut portion fixed in relation thereto to resist end thrusts upon the screw jacks, there being also a second internally threaded nut portion fixed in relation to the screw carrying body portion of the Vjacl: tol co-operate with the reverse rotationof thescrew, erecting a wall form in the trench to co-operate with the sheathing at one side to afford a space for the wall to be formed, the said wall form being positioned so as to completely encompass the first said Lby said Asheathing and the said wall form,

subsequently, upon the setting of the concrete wall, forcing one body portion of the formed of a thin walled pipe and provided screw jacks from the concrete of the wall by reverse rotation imparted to the screw of the i jacks thereby causing the screw to impinge upon a part fixed inrelation tothe body portion which is encompassed within the side edges of the wall, and finally, after the removal of the detachable portions of the screw jacks, removing a part or all of the wall form from the trench and finishing the exposed wall surface by the application of concrete to the cavities produced in the wall by the forcible removal by the screws of the detachable portions of the jacks as described.

l0. The method of producing a wall in a trench which consists in sheathing the trench at the sides, setting walers transverselyacross the sheathing, placing between Opposed walers screw jacks having multiple body portions arranged in telescopic end to end relat1on,one of said body portions of the screw Jacks be ing in length less than the width of the Wall to be erected in the trench and the other of said body portions being connected with an linternally threaded portion carrying an adjusting screw, erecting a wallform in the trench-to co-operate with the sheathing at one i sideto afford aspace for the wall to be formed, t

'thel said wall lform to bepositioned so as to completely encompass the first said body pore tions of the screw jacks and a part of thesaid abutting body portions carrying the screw, pouring concrete into said Vspace around the multiple body portions ofthe screw jacks within the wall space bound-ed by saidV sheathing and the said wall form,' and subsequently,

:uponthe setting'of the concrete wall, forcibly separating the body portions of the device carrying the screw by the forcible breaking yof the bond thereof with the adjacent lconr-crete and subsequently filling the resulting depression inthe wall with plastic concrete tocomplete the finish of the wall surface and yto embed the first said body portion of the screw jack beneath theV finished surface of the wall.V

llrrTherherein described method of constructing a wall which consists in digging the trenchl and supporting the sides thereof pletely embed the said enclosed metallic tubu-V lar portion of the jack-body asa permanent part of the Wall structure. A

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification, on this 21st day of November A. D. 1929.

THOMAS MCCAULEY, Jn. PORTER B. RUDOLF.

by means of suitable sheathin0r and multiple part extensible jacks, then making a form which will completely enclose one part of each of the multiple part jacks and a small portion of another part of the multiple jack body f adapted to engagingly support the usual jack screw, then filling the form with concrete thereby embedding wholly within the wall one part of the said multiple ypart jack body and a Vpart only of another portion of the multiple jack body, then forcibly removing the lastsaid part of the jack body by forcibly breaking the bondr between the same and the surrounding concrete of the wall7 and finally filling the depressionformedby the forcible removal of the last said part of the jack body from the wall with concrete to finish the wall surface and to completely embed the said enclosed part of the jack body asa permanent d part'of the wall structure.

12. The herein-described method of construoting a wall in Ya trench which consists Y in supporting the sides of the trench by means of suitable sheathing and multiple-partfextensible jacks, then making a form which will completely venclose one part of each of the'multiple part jacks, the last said part of the ack being in the form ofan imperforate metallic tube capable of telescopically receiving a. portion of another part of the multiple Y jack body adapted to engagingly support the usual vjack screw, then filling the form wit-h 

